More and more of our customers are adding content management services to their offerings. Hosting anything from small mini-sites to complete websites, they go a step further in becoming full service providers. It seems a logical step, since they often already have most of the information needed to build the website.
Business model
One reason printing companies seem to be successful with these services is the fact that the offering is part of a larger whole. Rather than focussing on a single service (creation and hosting of websites), it is offered alongside services like the automated creation of catalogs, web2print sites, digital asset management services, and so on. Because of this, the printing company can choose between a range of business models that are not available to the more traditional web design agencies.
For example, the printing company can conceivable cut prices significantly by focussing on their core business for revenue. Building a content management system means that the data is also available for database publishing purposes. Combining that in a tool like DMP FLO Suite means that printed catalogs can be easily created automatically. And this will generate a continuous source of income on the printing side. Similarly, the website might include a web2print application. And this means an even more regular stream of print orders, placed by the entire dealer network of the end customer.
Another unique approach for printing companies is to offer complete marketing workflows, rather than just a website. This is a service that is offered often anyway, regardless of the content management system. If the content management system is external, then often XML files are generated from DMP FLO Suite to upload to the website, thus also including it in the content workflow. But besides the website, the data is also used to launch a multitude of other marketing related processes. Design studios are briefed, material is created automatically with InDesign Server, brand sites are updated, and so on.
Project scope
Content management comes in various types and sizes, and most printing companies choose to focus on a number of services, rather than trying to offer everything. Mini-sites, creation of static sites for CD or DVD, syndicated content projects, small or medium sized websites, and the list goes on. One rule seems to be that printing companies tend to stay away from the huge content management projects, since they are to far away from the core business.
Technology
While a lot of our customers use the content management system embedded into the DMP FLO Suite, this is definitely not the only way to go. Many customers also keep using existing technologies and external content management systems, because of the investment made in building up the know how in the past. And this fits perfectly in our vision for our software. We create an open platform, because we are convinced that this is the best way for our customers to build their businesses. So even though we have our own content management system, we also offer the possibilities for external systems to connect and use our graphical functionalities.